- Rwanda W 114/10 in 19.5 Overs
- Uganda W 116/2 in 16.3 Overs
- Uganda W won by 8 wickets
Uganda’s Victoria Pearls kept their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier hopes alive with a dominant eight-wicket win over Rwanda at the HPC Oval, keeping the race for Group B semifinals wide open.
Rwanda won the toss and chose to bat, starting well before losing their captain in the second over. Gisele Ishimwe top-scored with 41 off 33 balls, combining with Henriette Ishimwe (36 off 31) for a strong partnership. But skipper Janet Mbabazi dismissed Gisele at a crucial moment, shifting the momentum.
Despite early fielding mistakes, Uganda’s bowlers tightened up. Irene Mutoni’s brilliant 19th over, two wickets for just one run triggered Rwanda’s collapse, as they were bowled out for 114 in 19.5 overs. Impressively, Uganda conceded no extras after leaking 19 in their previous game.
Chasing 115, Uganda lost Esther Iloku early and Mbabazi during the powerplay, slipping to 27/2. But a costly 13th over from Rwanda, where Geovanise Uwase gave away 15 runs, opened the door. From there, Rita Musamali (47) and Immaculate Nakisuyi (43*) guided Uganda home with an unbeaten stand, sealing victory with 17 balls to spare.
Nakisuyi who reached a career milestone of 50 T20I wickets, maintaining an impressive economy rate of 4.87 was also named Player of the Match, credited her partner;
“I started slowly, but Rita kept encouraging me. I’m glad we finished it together,” she said.
Mbabazi praised Rwanda’s early bowling but applauded her batters for staying calm under pressure. Rwanda’s captain admitted their fielding mistakes proved costly, saying they had enough runs to defend.
With one game left, Tanzania lead Group B, but Uganda and Rwanda remain in the hunt. Uganda face winless Kenya next, while Rwanda meet leaders Tanzania. If Tanzania beat Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania qualify. But if Uganda and Rwanda both win, net run rate will decide the semifinal spots.
